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Safety is a conversation: how everyday acts lead to the right care
What does patient safety actually look like? Sometimes it involves complex medical care, such as emergency procedures or careful medication management. But just as often, it can look like a conversation. A team member feeling supported to ask a question, or a patient feeling comfortable enough to share a worry.
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Teams participating in the Right Care Challenge, which focuses on reducing avoidable emergency department visits and improving access to primary and community care, have demonstrated how everyday interactions contribute to safer care.
They know that safety is not just a clinical responsibility, but a collective effort shaped by the perspectives of patients, caregivers, staff and community partners. While their goal is to increase access to care - the foundation of that work lies in listening, collaboration and open dialogue.
During Canadian Patient Safety Week 2025, teams from hospitals to community hubs used the Celebrating Everyday Safety Acts activity card to put this into practice. By embracing the theme “All Voices for Safer Care”, they demonstrated that preventing harm and reducing avoidable emergency department visits calls for every voice in the room.
Valuing the expertise in every role
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At St. Angela Merici Residence Inc. in Saskatoon, a resident’s care team includes everyone they interact with throughout the day – a housekeeper who knows exactly where a walker should be placed to prevent a fall, and kitchen staff swapping in softer foods for a resident having trouble swallowing. This proactive approach supports everyone to speak up, allowing for interventions that keep residents safe.
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This sense of shared commitment also drives the work at Generations Calgary. Their Hand Hygiene and PPE Education campaign took a multi-generational approach, engaging everyone from preschoolers to older adults. They turned a safety protocol into a shared civic duty, leveraging the strength of the entire community to care for one another.
Creating space for every voice
For many people, including youth, the "right care" is care that feels safe. The YMCA of Southwest Nova Scotia addressed this at their Anchor Youth Space in Bridgewater. Their team brought youth, caregivers and community partners together to co-design a safe environment. They identified that an "inclusive and non-judgmental" atmosphere is part of what safety means to them. By focusing work on psychological safety, they help youth feel comfortable accessing support early, preventing the crises that lead to emergency visits.
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Similarly, Island Health’s Royal Jubilee Hospital in British Columbia is creating an inclusive safety culture within its Psychiatric Emergency Services. By using a central whiteboard to capture ideas from patients, psychiatrists, nurses and peer support workers alike, they demonstrate that all voices matter. This approach makes space for valuable ideas from anyone on the team and contributes to a culture where all opportunities to provide safer care are sought out and valued. The whiteboard is one tool for communication, tracking and sharing success of improved safety and other departmental improvements through the team’s weekly Quality Improvement Huddles.
Strengthening capacity and confidence
Delivering the right care requires confidence. Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario Cambridge site, led by Langs Community Health Centre used the activity to demystify safety planning. Through a collaborative session, they equipped staff across various departments to act in a crisis. This turned safety knowledge into a shared organizational strength, spurring safety conversations organization-wide.
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At GMF-U Sacré-Coeur, CIUSSS du Nord-de-l'Île-de-Montréal in Quebec, the team mobilized administrative staff alongside clinicians to review their daily processes. By examining these processes together, the team facilitated a meaningful exchange of best practices across different roles. This collaborative exercise helped the team develop a shared understanding of how to enhance safety within the full scope of the care they provide.
Moving Care Forward
All teams, including these six, show that the goals of the Right Care Challenge and the theme of "All Voices for Safer Care" are interconnected. To reduce avoidable emergency visits, we must build trust across the system and recognize that every single person has a role to play in making care safer.
Want to join the conversation? Whether you are in a hospital, a community hub, or a clinic, you have a role to play in building safer care. We invite you to download the Celebrating Everyday Safety Acts activity card to start a conversation with your own team today.